Budget Meals

[DailyDi]

What's some of your favorite cheap meals?

Placed an "out of food" order this morning from hot dogs and baked beans, meatloaf and mashed potatoes and Alfredo meatballs (on sale)

[Little Sherri]

Baked beans (the molasses ones, not the tomato ones, at least for me), and hot dogs, would be up there. Tuna on toast or in a wrap (particularly naan) with cheese. Pizza can be cheap if you make it at home. You can sometimes score a chicken pot pie the size of an actual pie for about $10, and that's three meals. DIY shepherds pie can be cheap to make, on a per-serving basis. Chef Boyardee ravioli is a guilty pleasure. A spoonful of pesto sauce, half a box of pasta, and one of those Costco pouches of oven roasted chicken slices comes in tasty and pretty inexpensive per serving, once you have the ingredients. Chunky soup!   

[Cruiser 03]

I keep everything I can in stock in kitchen with a duplicate somewhere else in the house some of my cheap emergency favorites are Rice noodle and curry ,ramen , yakisoba ,Knorr pasta sides with a can of tuna , hot dogs with pushcart style onions and mustard, grilled cheese (I am a chili head with about 30 or 40 different hot sauces from mild jalapeños/ chipotle to ghost pepper/,reaper ) you can make a lot of different rice or noodle variations with carrots ,pepper , onions, celery , garlic ginger, mirin any aromatics you have laying around, tequila lime noodles , drunken noodles , I also have an entire storage bin devoted to dried beans , assorted rice,barley, lentils,Coude cous , just soak and cook , have a metric ton of dried fruit I can add from raisins,dates figs, pineapple, coconut , mango , kiwi, papaya . ( sweet and spicy anything works in my mouth ) dried mushroom collection even my “out of food” is pretty elaborate compared to most people . I also am a combat shopper using sales and fresh in season stuff so typically lost of vegetables around can always stir fry , I think more than out of food I suffer from un inspired to create something , I also collect shopper perks that I save and convert to grocery gift cards rainy day emergency fund currently have about $700 in rainy day funds that are just free groceries I have earned from normal monthly food shopping . 

[AbabeBill]

Chop meat & noodles (small elbow macaroni) Just fry the chop meat, add onions, salt, pepper. Boil the noodles. Make a brown gravy with the chop meat, then add the noodles in. Any small pasta noodles would do though.

Should look something like this. You can sprinkle some Italian cheese over each serving if you like. 

[Babygeebee]

You can extend and transform leftovers with a little creativity. I often make a hash with leftover diced ham (or whatever you have on hand), diced onions, and leftover potatoes (The dehydrated ones from Costco work in a pinch too.) 

Fry the ham and onions until softened, add the potatoes and cook until browned. Season however you like. Push everything to one side and scramble in one or two eggs. 

It makes several servings and is very satisfying. 

[Dubious]

Whole grain bread with butter, and milk. 

[~Brian~]

7 minutes ago, Babygeebee said:

You can extend and transform leftovers with a little creativity. I often make a hash with leftover diced ham (or whatever you have on hand), diced onions, and leftover potatoes (The dehydrated ones from Costco work in a pinch too.) 

Fry the ham and onions until softened, add the potatoes and cook until browned. Season however you like. Push everything to one side and scramble in one or two eggs. 

It makes several servings and is very satisfying. 

@Babygeebee

YUM!  I've done that with some stuff that we've put together into like a western omelet or an eastern omelet and it taste real good. I love the omelet where you can just stick almost anything in them, because if their seasoned right you can put almost anything in there and they taste good! now you've made me hungry hugs

Have a great day!

Brian

[Babygeebee]

6 minutes ago, ~Brian~ said:

@Babygeebee

YUM!  I've done that with some stuff that we've put together into like a western omelet or an eastern omelet and it taste real good. 

Omlets are a great way to use up meat and veg. If making an omlet is too fussy then just scramble it all together and serve on toast. Hot sauce for seasoning and you are good to go. Yum! 😋

[~Brian~]

24 minutes ago, Babygeebee said:

Omlets are a great way to use up meat and veg. If making an omlet is too fussy then just scramble it all together and serve on toast. Hot sauce for seasoning and you are good to go. Yum! 😋

@Babygeebee

I agree about the omelets, you can put almost ANYTHING In it, and season it right, and it tastes pretty good!

One budget meal that I do is: if I was able to get a hold of some elbow macaroni, and a can of either beef or pork, beef preferred, what I'll do is I'll take the pork that comes in the commodity boxes in those great big tin cans, and then I'll open it up. About 2 1/2 inches of fat on the top of this, so then I'll cut that off and I will say for now all of the rest of the pork fat and everything else that doesn't belong in there.

Then what I'll do is I'll boil some water in a large colander. Then I'll Take the pork after I take out the fat, and I'll dump that into The colander.  I cooked that for about 15 minutes, and by that time what'll happen is all of the fat and the bad stuff will end up boiling off and what is left hopefully is just the meat and a little bit of the juices. And I'll take a box of elbow macaroni and cook that for about 12 minutes, we mix that together and Voila, macaroni with pork or beef! pretty good, and the ingredients are pretty cheap! every once in awhile i'll eat that, but I don't eat it all the time because those pork and beef cans are full of fat, and they're loaded with it, so it feels like somebody put in about 10 tons of baby oil all over it, so it's just slippery and greasy, and it doesn't taste right either.

Brian

[ValentinesStuff]

Home made chili, stew, and soup. I make these in my crockpot.

 

Chili, 2 big cans of tomatoes (crushed, diced, pureed, sauce, whole, depending upon how you like your chili), 1 medium can of diced tomatoes, a diced onion, garlic, pepper, salt, chili powder, whichever seasonings you like. And a mixture of meat and beans, two pounds/cans depending upon your expenses or preference. Brown the meat, throw everything into the crockpot and cook for a few or more hours.

 

Stew. One quart of stock/broth (beef, chicken or vegetable), flour, meat (bite sized) or no meat, frozen veggies your choice, spices your choice. Turn on your crockpot or pot and add the stock so it starts to warm up add some flour and spices and thoroughly mix it in, it's better to add a bit too much because you can add water to thin it down. Once it's all mixed in and getting warm, brown any meat you are using and then add it to the stock and flour. Then add in the frozen veggies, if you are using multiple bags of veggies only use part of each bag. For potatoes I use steak fries. Cook for a few hours and a hearty stew.

 

Soup is like the stew only no or very little flour, and possibly more stock or water.

 

Go shopping early and ask when they discount the meat. It's still good, but can be up to 1/3 off. Freeze and it will last a while. 

 

https://m.youtube.com/@TheWolfePit/playlists

 

His budget meals can be really cheap, are usually simple, and look down right tasty usually. He also taste tests prepared meals, and some truly odd food items you can buy.

[barnburner]

I make this thing where I cook up ground beef on the stove top, seasoned, and when its done cooking, I throw in barbeque sauce, While this is happening, I am air frying a bag of tater tots(seasoned too of course), The tots come out and I crush and break apart as much of them as I can before my arm gets tired then toss in the meat and mix it all together.

 

I also do the same but instead of tots, I make mashed potatoes.

 

And on a similar thing, I will air fry popcorn chicken or boneless wings or nuggets and put them into mashed potatoes(no bbq sauce tho)

[Babygeebee]

1 hour ago, barnburner said:

And on a similar thing, I will air fry popcorn chicken or boneless wings or nuggets and put them into mashed potatoes(no bbq sauce tho)

Try adding some corn and use a packaged gravy mix instead bbq sauce. Excellent.👌

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

Check some of the YouTube vids from TheWolfePit: "Feed Your Family". And some of these look pretty good to me

https://www.google.com/search?q=the+wolfepit+eating+on+a+budget&sxsrf=APwXEdeS-oVC1FBW0FxXdtoqOJCXrbXxWg%3A1684376072320&source=hp&ei=CIplZPe2EPmcptQP492N4AE&iflsig=AOEireoAAAAAZGWYGBUePEU-hY3xfJZ8Z8zU7tw2RdR5&ved=0ahUKEwj32tLr5f3-AhV5jokEHeNuAxwQ4dUDCAo&uact=5&oq=the+wolfepit+eating+on+a+budget&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBwghEKABEAoyBwghEKABEAoyBwghEKsCEAoyBwghEKsCEAo6BwgjEIoFECc6BAgjECc6CAgAEIoFEJECOgsIABCABBCxAxCDAToRCC4QgAQQsQMQgwEQxwEQ0QM6BQgAEIAEOggILhCABBDUAjoOCC4QigUQsQMQgwEQ1AI6BQguEIAEOg4ILhCDARDUAhCxAxCABDoOCC4QgAQQsQMQgwEQ1AI6CAguELEDEIAEOgsILhCABBCxAxCDAToUCC4QgAQQsQMQgwEQxwEQ0QMQ1AI6CAguEIAEELEDOgsILhCABBDHARCvAToLCC4QgAQQsQMQ1AI6CAgAEIAEELEDOggILhDUAhCABDoRCC4QgAQQxwEQrwEQmAUQmQU6CgguELEDEIAEEAo6BwgAEIAEEAo6BwgAEA0QgAQ6BggAEBYQHjoKCCEQFhAeEB0QCjoMCCEQFhAeEA8QHRAKUABY_T9gzFdoAHAAeACAAb8BiAG1G5IBBDcuMjSYAQCgAQE&sclient=gws-wiz

[Cute_Kitten]

Ramen! Beef ramen with a bag of Great Value frozen peas and carrots added. You can also throw in a hard boiled egg.  kielbasa when it's on sale. cut it up, fry it up in a pan and add some worchestshire sauce and brown sugar, serve over rice.  Macaroni and cheese with canned tuna. 

[feralfreak]

ramen noodles(usually beef but sometimes chicken), or a 75 cent pizza and a little bag of chips(60 cents for one, but 1 buck for 2), its not anything big but its a good enough pizza, especially if i doctor it up with some green olives, or a can of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sammich, or canned chicken noodle and a pb and j sammich. sometimes the local store will have some things on sale, like a big can of clam chowder so ill stock up on those, same thing with spagettios with meatballs or beef ravioli, sometimes a tv dinner will go on sale.

[babyalan]

19 hours ago, DailyDi said:

What's some of your favorite cheap meals?

Placed an "out of food" order this morning from hot dogs and baked beans, meatloaf and mashed potatoes and Alfredo meatballs (on sale)

Spatzle its a German noodle.made.with flour eggs and milk and cheap but addictive

[Cruiser 03]

I also patrol my local stores well I shop if something is reduced price because it’s best if used before date is coming , from shopping these stores for last 23 years , I know where to look and play “food Tetris “ what I can score for cheap and add to something I was going to cook to add flavor or nutrition . Being flexible sometimes the stars Align like the other day ground beef was on sale along with Ricotta cheese , I hit a best if used buy motherload of fresh lasagna noodles , salsa , pineapple mango pico de gallo , mushrooms and poblano peppers . So I made a buffalo chicken lasagna using stuff already in the house with a tequila citrus coffee cumin cheese, repurposed the lasagna noodles to make pasta empanadas and removed the mushroom stems and stuffed the caps with crab meat and cheese ( the stems get chopped uniform thickness and baked then put into ziplock bags to add to something later by soaking in water . Sometimes getting food on the cheap allows me to make bigger tastier meals and I feed my neighbors ( the oranges I zested and squeezed into my lasagna cheese were extras my neighbor gave me , of course I sent her lasagna . I am the “mad cook” of the neighborhood , I love feeding people , even my mail lady knows what time I eat and that like every crazy cook there will be plenty if she’s hungry . If we are feeling lazy I chuck meat vegetables and potatoes in crock pot with some spices and put it on keep warm . Low and slow builds flavor some people don’t know you can low and slow pasta in crock pot ,even angel hair and rice noodles .  

[Toecaps Denton]

Seems like nothing is cheap nowadays. But I guess just a plain quesadilla. Or a plain toasted bagel with either butter or hummus.

[feralfreak]

3 hours ago, Toecaps Denton said:

Seems like nothing is cheap nowadays. But I guess just a plain quesadilla. Or a plain toasted bagel with either butter or hummus.

my little pizzas are cheap, .75 cents, but not much flavor, oh well.

[ValentinesStuff]

6 hours ago, feralfreak said:

my little pizzas are cheap, .75 cents, but not much flavor, oh well.

Buy some spices.

[feralfreak]

1 hour ago, ValentinesStuff said:

Buy some spices.

sometimes i doctor it up with green olives, some extra mozzerella cheese, otherwise i just pair with a little 50-60 cent bag of tater chips and be satisfied with it.

 

sometimes we use to make pinto or great northern beans in the crock pot(flavored with goya pork concentrate, but a pastor i listened to before he was "called home" suggested throwing a turkey leg in the beans), make a pan of cornbread in a cast iron skillet, good and cheap

[rusty pins]

Beef Ramen noodles with Bar-S hot dogs cut up in them.  Can't get much cheaper than that!

[feralfreak]

or just the beef ramen noodles, or just the hot dogs

[MegaChar]

Poor man's potatoes:

Diced potatoes

Diced onions

Cut up slice of cheese

Some ranch

Yum yum!

[Cute_Kitten]

beef ramen noodles, hard boiled egg, and Great Value bag of frozen cut up veggies (peas, carrots, etc). 

also, rice, shredded or cut up carrots, peas, corn (or whatever other veggies you got on hand/ whatever you prefer) some cut up chicken, and terikyaki sauce